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Where new foe goes, Pizza Hut will follow That includes delivery customers' doors By DAVID PRESZLER Reconnaissance has started and the coupons are flying in a brewing "pizza war" between Pizza Hut and the newest chain to open in Medford: Papa John's Pizza. And if you ordered a Papa John's pizza over the weekend and quickly got a visit from the Pizza Hut folks, it was no accident. "We had a whole caravan of Pizza Hut people waiting to follow our drivers," said Papa John's franchisee Jim Fry. "They were just blatant about it." Local Pizza Hut officials admit they asked employees to follow Papa John's delivery drivers on Friday and Saturday nights. Once the Papa John's pizza had been delivered, Pizza Hut employees went to the door to hand out coupons for free Pizza Hut pizzas, redeemable with a Papa John's receipt. Jim Nelson, district manager for Pizza Hut, says his company's "Follow the Driver" program was designed to protect Pizza Hut's customer base and encourage customers to compare his company's pizzas with others. "I love competition," Nelson says, adding that the idea is not to run Papa John's out of business but to help customers make comparisons. "It's a kick." On Saturday, the company also handed out coupons that gave customers a free Pizza Hut pizza -- if they turned in a Papa John's coupon. Nelson says more competition is in the works. In fact, the weekend salvo was just phase one, according to Harrison Woodruff, marketing chief for Pac Pizza, the San Ramon, Calif., company that owns 148 Pizza Huts from Santa Barbara to Medford. "We're going to start a war and we've fired the first shot," Woodruff says, declining to discuss future operations other than to say two more phases are planned. Fry was less than amused and says Pizza Hut's approach made his drivers nervous and created a safety hazard. He called police, who in turn called Nelson to make sure that his drivers were cautious. Nelson said he emphasized to drivers that they be safe and courteous to Papa John's drivers. Woodruff says Pizza Hut realizes it loses some customers whenever a new place opens up but doesn't intend to let them go without a fight. "Like any red-blooded, capitalist American, we don't want to sit back and let it happen," he said. So far, other pizza chains don't appear to be joining the fray -- employees at Domino's Pizza, Abby's Legendary Pizza and Round Table Pizza all said they weren't aware of promotions relating to Papa John's. The reaction caught Fry by surprise. "It was kind of amazing to us," he said. "It was almost comical." Today's Business Index Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA